


A Tainted Reputation

by TVgirll1971



Series: Truth and Consqueences [2]
Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22481773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVgirll1971/pseuds/TVgirll1971
Summary: Months after the team was tasked to find out if a an old case Douglas Prince worked on was compromised, the team faces his wrath when the truth about that investigation is leaked.
Relationships: Ray Prince/Susan Sampson
Series: Truth and Consqueences [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617478
Kudos: 2





	A Tainted Reputation

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for this story goes to @ShannonPerry20 for her excellent prompt. This story is a sequel to my previous fic An Old Agent, An Old Case, and a Possibly Compromised Investigation.
> 
> This story takes place before the events of my fic The Year of the Mole.(With the epilogue taking place soon after those events)

_They lied. She shouldn’t be surprised. Ollerman told her they were liars. The FBI was full of liars. Full of self-righteous, sanctimonious officials who cared more about the Bureau’s precious reputation than getting at the truth. She thought of the FBI’s motto “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.” What a load of crap. There was no integrity. She used to think so but Washington happened and she realized the Bureau was filled with a bunch of people who only cared about covering their own asses._

_She kind of wished the team had made a different choice. She knew half of these people. They were good, decent people. They had integrity, or so she thought. They could've exposed HIS team's tainted investigation. They could've exposed the dirty tricks done in the name of justice. But no, they lied. Lied to protect the Bureau’s reputation—HIS reputation. The former Deputy Director with all his talk of dedication, discipline and work ethic. He’s part of the reason the Bureau is the way it is. The corruption, the lies—it doesn’t start at the bottom. No, it starts at the top with people like him._

_She felt a pang of guilt when she thought about Ray. He didn’t deserve what was about to happen. But then again, maybe he did. After all, he was a sheep—blindly following orders, doing whatever the hell the Bureau told him to do. She was like that once, in Washington. She could’ve saved those people. She knew there was a threat and she could’ve stopped it. All she had to do was follow up on that lead. But no, she had to be the good little soldier and do what she was told. Instead of doing what was right, instead of following her gut, she followed the orders of an idiot who wouldn’t let her investigate what she felt was a viable threat. “I’m not using the Bureau’s resources on what’s probably a hoax. It’s probably just some teenager spouting off.” Well, he was wrong and people were dead. If that wasn’t bad enough, the sniveling weasel wouldn’t even own up to it. She wanted the Bureau to concede that a tragic mistake had been made. She wanted them to publicly acknowledge that they handled things poorly and would reevaluate how they handle threats. But no, we can’t sully the Bureau’s reputation._

_She complained. She complained to her boss, to his bosses, to anyone who would listen. What happened wasn’t right. The public had every right to know the Bureau dropped the ball. They had every right to know that the Bureau knew about the threat and ignored it. But no, the warning was covered up and for all her complaining, she was branded a troublemaker and transferred out of D.C. to Philadelphia. She fumed at the injustice of it. But did HE care? No, all he cared about what how she could repair her standing in the Bureau._

_This was his fault. Mr. Deputy Director. He and his kind created this mess. They were two faced--- they talked about integrity and honesty, then helped shape a system full of corruption and dishonesty. She’d show him. She’d show all of them. He cared so much about her reputation; she was going to burn his to the ground._

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

The team was at the Dead Drop waiting for Ray. For once, they didn’t need to wonder why he’d called them. This time they already knew—there was a leak in the FBI. Months earlier, the team was tasked by Ray’s father, former FBI Deputy Director Douglas Prince, to find out if the arrest of militia leader Richard Banning, thirty years earlier, was tainted. Though the team did discover instances of evidence and witness tampering by FBI Agent Laura Chalke, they lied to Mr. Prince and told him everything was aboveboard. 

Which made the headline in the day’s paper so disconcerting—EVIDENCE TAMPERING DISCOVERED IN 30 YEAR OLD FBI CASE. As the team discussed the painstakingly detailed and accurate article, Ray finally arrived, in a much more serious mood than normal.

“Okay, team. I guess you all know why you’re here.”

Frankie glared at him. “How the hell did this happen?”

“I don’t know.” Ray sputtered at a complete loss.

“Did you file a report on this?” Will asked. “Maybe it got intercepted before it got to Director Casey.”

“I didn’t file a report.” Ray said. “Casey said the Banning case was closed; it should stay that way. The only reason we looked into it was because of my father. He’s the only one who wanted us to look into it.”

“Well, maybe whoever got this information got it the same way we did. I mean it’s not like it was that hard to find.” Standish pointed out. "All I had to do was compare the notes to the photographs taken at Banning's place to realize evidence was probably planted. The witness tampering, Susan discovered by just looking into the witness's past and finding a link between her and Chalke's mother." 

“That’s right.’ Frankie said with a touch of sarcasm. “Someone just happened to investigate a thirty year old arrest in Kentucky not long after we did.”

“Okay. But look who was involved. ” Standish pointed at Ray. “His father. The man who’d wind up becoming Deputy Director of the FBI. Maybe someone was trying to dig dirt on him?”

“For what purpose?” Susan asked. “He’s been retired for over ten years. I agree with Frankie. There is no way someone out of the blue looked into a thirty year old case. This was obviously done to embarrass the Bureau or at the very least, Ray's father.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard from him?” Will asked Ray.

“I got a text.” Ray replied. “He’s not happy. Says he’s flying down to speak to us.”

“Can’t imagine Director Casey is happy either.” Frankie stated.

“Ooh, no.” Ray agreed. “Listen, this is on me. I’m the one who made the decision to lie. If anyone gets called on the carpet for this, it should be me.”

“I said it was your call, Ray and we’d support whatever decision you made.” Will said. “That still stands.”

“I still don’t understand how this information leaked.” Jai spoke up. “You said there was no official report which means the only ones who knew about the cover up were the six of us in this room.”

“Unless Aaron Klemsky mentioned it to someone but given his dementia and paranoia, that’s highly doubtful.” said Susan. 

“What about Standish’s computer? Maybe it was hacked and they were able to get the information from his search history.” Frankie suggested.

“Excuse me?” Standish said in an offended tone. “No one is getting through these firewalls. Even on the off chance some superman would, I’d be instantly notified that the system had been breached.”

“Maybe you should check anyway.” Jai suggested. “Just to make sure there was no unauthorized access.”

“Okay, if you want me to waste my time.” Standish grumbled.

While Standish worked on that, Frankie said to Will, “You know, we could talk to the reporter who broke the story. See where she got her information from?”

“A reporter isn’t going to reveal her source.” Will stated.

“She might if we lean on her.” Frankie replied.

Will stared at her. “And stomp all over the First Amendment? No, we’re not doing that.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

“We go and talk to her—nicely. See if she can tell us anything about her source. Was it on the record, off the record? Was the source from the FBI? Maybe she’ll give us something.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Later, Will and Frankie returned to the Dead Drop empty handed. As Will expected, the reporter refused to give any information about her source. She did give one detail though—the story was pretty much handed to her on a silver platter. Which supported the theory that the leak came from within the FBI. As the team discussed the situation, they got a terse text from Mr. Prince telling them he was on his way to the Dead Drop. Knowing this wouldn't be pretty, Will sent Jai and Standish home while the others waited for Prince. Later, the Dead Drop door burst open.

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS??” bellowed Mr. Prince, as he stormed in waving a newspaper. 

Will quickly got up and walked towards him. “Sir, I…”

“Your team had one job, Agent Chase! One! Find out whether the Banning case was clean! Your team assured me everything was aboveboard. HE” Prince pointed to Ray. “stood right here and told me you found NOTHING wrong with the investigation!”

“Sir, I know. I can explain...” Unfortunately, before he had a chance, Prince walked right past him and went to Ray who was seated at one of the tables..

“Get up.” Prince demanded. When Ray didn’t budge, his father slapped him on the leg with his newspaper and yelled “I SAID GET UP, DAMN IT!”  


Ray immediately jumped up and stood at attention. He’d seen his father angry before but this was probably the angriest he’d ever seen him. Prince brandished a finger at his son, “You told me that your team found nothing—NOTHING—to suggest the Banning investigation was tainted. So, either your team is as incompetent as you or you’re a goddamned liar. Which is it?”

Ray stood there dumbfounded. He’d been the subject of his father’s wrath before but this was different. 

“I asked WHICH IS IT!” His father bellowed.

Ray felt Susan next to him, rubbing his back, comforting him. He swallowed and said. “I lied.”

“You lied. So, everything in this paper. The fake witness, the planting of evidence. You knew about this?” He looked around the room. “You all knew about this?” 

“Yes, sir.” Ray replied.

Mr. Prince turned his ire on Will. “You! You’re leader of this team! Did you put him up to this? I know he wouldn’t have made this decision on his own.”

Will bristled at Prince’s tone and, in an effort to defend Ray, said. “Sir, your son absolutely made this decision on his own. And I support it.”

Prince glared at Will and said with disgust, “You support it?!” He then pointed his finger at Will, “You told me that if you were in my position, you’d want to know if one of your people was dirty. You said you’d want to know the truth!”

“Yes, sir and I stand by that.”

“And yet you went along with this cover up! You had an obligation to report the truth and you buried it!”  


“Sir.” Frankie stepped forward, “In Will’s defense, he wanted to tell you the truth. He wanted everything out in the open. I disagreed.”

“Really?” Prince asked, not very happy at all.

“Yes, because I knew if this got out, not only would Banning get out of jail,, but every case Agent Chalke worked on, possibly any case you were involved with, would be put under a microscope. I didn’t see the point in reopening a case that was long dead and buried.”

Prince waved the newspaper right in front of her face. “Well, obviously, someone disagrees with you!”

“Sir, I think you need to…” Susan began. 

“Don’t tell me to relax!” he bellowed, turning his wrath on her. "DON'T YOU DARE!" 

Susan held her hand out and said calmly, “I was going to say you need to take a breath. I understand you’re angry…”

“ANGRY?!! Prince roared. “You’re damned right, I’m angry! I asked for your team’s help. I TRUSTED you tell me the truth! Instead, I’m fed the same batch of lies my old team fed me thirty years ago!” Susan opened her mouth to say something but Prince interrupted before she had a chance. “And don’t even TRY to psychoanalyze me! I know my anger at you is connected to my anger at them and I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!” He then addressed the whole team. “Do you people have any idea the position you’ve put the Bureau in?! Did you even stop to think about the consequences?! Every lawyer from here to Timbuctoo is going to be combing through every case in my entire career trying to find a mistake!“ He then stepped right in front of Ray. “DID THAT THOUGHT EVER ENTER YOUR PEAPICKING MIND?!!”

Frankie spoke up behind him. “Yes, sir, it did. Which is exactly why we didn’t say anything.” Prince whirled at her, his eyes blazing but Frankie stood firm. “The truth is, the result would’ve been the same. You would’ve been compelled to report our findings, Banning’s case would be reopened and, like you said, every lawyer from here to Timbuctoo, wherever that is, would be looking into your entire career.”

That took the wind out of Prince’s sails a little because he realized she was right. A lot calmer, he let out an angry sigh and said. “You may be right. But at least in that case, I’d be prepared. I wouldn’t be caught with my pants down like a damned imbecile.”

“You’re right and I’m sorry about that. The fact is, we made a judgment call. Personally, I think it was the right one. Unfortunately, in this case, it backfired.”

Prince looked at Will. “Do you have any idea how the hell this came out? How the hell does a secret buried for thirty years end up front page news?!”

“We don’t know, sir.” Will replied. “As you’d expect, the writer of the article refused to name her source. All we know is the story was pretty much handed to her.”

Prince shook his head in disgust and started pacing. “I should’ve listened to Casey and left this alone. There was NO reason for me to open this case back up! NONE! Certainly not on the word of a delusional man like Klemsky! But no, I let my curiosity get the best of me. Thanks to that, my reputation, MY GOOD NAME, is tainted.”

“It’s just one case.” Ray finally spoke up. “Maybe it won’t matter so much.”

Prince shot Ray a disgusted look. “Don't be so naive! You don’t think they’ll be looking into every case my team was involved with in Kentucky? You don’t think they’ll suspect I'M responsible for this cover up?!! Who’s going to say otherwise?? Chalke’s dead and Klemsky’s useless!”

“Sir, Ray’s just trying to be optimistic.” Susan said, as she touched Ray's arm.

Prince glared at her. “The last thing I need, Agent Sampson, is misplaced optimism! Unlike some people in this room, I don't enjoy being a known as a screw up!"

"Sir!." Will called out. Having gotten Mr. Prince's attention, he continued. "I'm sorry. Like Frankie said, we made a judgement call. Was it the right one? I don't know but it's done. All we can do now is move on. But I guarantee this team will do everything we can to find out who leaked that information." 

"Forgive me if I don't put a lot of faith in what your team will do." Prince replied, his face hard. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to a meeting to discuss how to clean up this mess you made!" With that, Mr. Prince stormed out, slamming the door behind him. 

"You okay, babe?" Susan asked a dazed Ray after his father left.

"Yeah, I guess.'" Ray replied, still rattled by the entire scene. "I've just never seen him like that before. Sure, I've seen him mad, usually at me but that? That was.." Ray was at a loss for words.

"He was lied to." Susan explained. "Not just by us, but by his old team. People he trusted went behind his back. For someone like him--who values his status as an authority figure--that's got to sting."

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**Epilogue. A year later**

It finally dawned on Ray who leaked the story about the Banning case to the press. It was her. He’d told her about the case. He told her exactly how it was compromised. She was FBI, she knew where to look to find the records. Looking back, he should’ve realized it was her. Who else could it have been? The only ones who knew about the cover up were an old senile FBI agent, the team, and her. He hates that she was angry enough to do this. He hates even more that he was too blind to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for the line "burn it to the ground" goes to the traitor's confession in Season 1 of Quantico. That line was in my head when I was writing The Year of the Mole and I decided to use it here.
> 
> The idea of the FBI cover-up in Washington D.C. came from ep. 2.4 of FBI, "An Imperfect Science"


End file.
